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Grenfell Campus pool closure saddens Corner Brook swim community

The impending closure of one of the city's two main swimming pools has swimmers in Corner Brook wondering how they will do without the university facility.

Corner Brook reacts to Grenfell Campus pool closure

9 years ago
Duration 1:37
For many people living in Corner Brook, the closure of the Grenfell pool after 40 years is hard to accept.

The impending closure of the swimming pool on Memorial University's Grenfell Campus has swimmers in Corner Brook wondering how they will do without the facility.

"It's tough. I know from the talk in the swim community here, it's very disappointing," said Charlotte Jones, whose now-grown children were competitive swimmers, and who still regularly exercises at the pool.

"Swimming is such a beautiful way to stay fit," she said. "It's an endurance sport. It's wonderful, it's not hard on the joints."

The 40-year-old pool is one of two main facilities in the city — heavily used for swimming lessons, rentals and community groups such as the Corner Brook Rapids Swim Club. 

However, on Thursday Grenfell Campus announced the pool would close indefinitely at the end of the winter semester in April 2016.

The pool, with its iconic whale wall tiles, will close in April. (Twitter/@grenfellcampus)

Gary Bradshaw, associate vice-president of the university, said the facility has become so deteriorated the university had no choice, as the administration looks for ways to fund an estimated $2-million worth of repairs.

"We've been aware that there's been a growing requirement for significant repairs on the pool," Bradshaw told CBC's Corner Brook Morning Show.

"We've been doing the basic maintenance on a regular basis, but now the pool's really at a point where it does require almost a total rehabilitation."

A total overhaul

The university commissioned an engineering report earlier in 2015 for a definitive analysis of the pool's problems.

"The report came back that it was in a very deteriorated state, and we would need to make significant repairs," said Bradshaw.

While the structural base underneath the pool is one of the main concerns, its filtration and mechanical systems, deck and change rooms are all "in a state where they need a full uplift."

Gary Bradshaw of Grenfell Campus says almost everything about the pool needs repairs, from its deck to its structural base to its filtration system. (Brian McHugh/CBC)

Now, the university will comb through its books to try and come up with the money for repairs.

"We've got four or five months to start to do planning around where we can possibly seek funding," said Bradshaw, adding the university has numerous other financial concerns and maintenance requirements to take into account.

"It's going to take some careful thought as to how we can position us to try and secure funding, either internally or externally."

Left high and dry

Without the Grenfell facility, swimmers will still have access to the Arts and Culture Centre pool — itself starting to show its age. But Jones said that will put a crunch on available pool time, such as the after-school time slots.

"There are key times when the kids have to be in the pool, so it really is going to put a strain on the clubs," Jones told On The Go, adding that the lack of swim time will probably mean more dry-land training, which she said could put athletes at a disadvantage in the water. 

"Swimming, there's a lot to it technically that the kids have to learn."

Triathlete Scott LeDrew worries how the university would attract prospective students without a pool. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

Professional triathlete Scott LeDrew agrees that residents and the university will suffer without the pool. 

"I've travelled the world, I've never been to a university without a pool," said LeDrew. 

Aquatic optimism

But LeDrew sees a bright side to the end of the era.

"I look at this as an opportunity to now to build a really beautiful aquatic centre," said LeDrew. "You just have to be positive. We always learned that in competitive swimming, you learn to fight to the end."

Le Drew says having fewer fitness options in the city makes little sense with an increasingly overweight, aging population. (Colleen Connors/CBC)

LeDrew cited the federal Liberals' promise of spending $5-billion on new infrastructure projects as a potential source of funds make that a reality.

He also hopes the province and city will be on board with the idea, in what he sees as a necessary facility to help fight the province's well-documented problems with obesity and health care spending.

"This is a chance to make people healthier," said Ledrew.

With files from Colleen Connors